November is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month

November is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month and it’s important for us to share that with you. In January of 2011, Our CEO and founder, Joan Burge, lost her husband of 34 years to Pancreatic Cancer. She knows this cancer on a personal level as it has impacted her life in a number of ways. When Joan was in the process of writing a book for administrative professionals she was also dealing with the heartbreak of seeing her husband, Dave, bravely battle this disease. She titled this book, Underneath It All. Joan explored new territory by going deeper into “what really matters, underneath it all” while approaching the different subjects like responsibility, trust, chemistry between a leader and their assistant, self-confidence at work, self-awareness and more. She artfully maintains a delicate balance between the “how-to” of the administrative work and the personal stories and intimate details of the human behind the book.

How You Can Help

Know what to look for. Pancreatic Cancer is sometimes referred to as a silent disease because the symptoms aren’t typically present in the early stages and this causes many patients to be in the advanced stages of the disease by the time they receive a diagnosis. Learn about the types of symptoms to look for here and research more about this type of cancer at Pancan.org.

Today’s executives have much higher expectations of assistants than in the past. Many executives want their assistants to learn, understand, and especially “know” the business. Administrative/executive assistants will need an entirely new set of skills such as commitment to quality performance, cognitive thinking, and management of organizational goals.

You’ll read why it’s essential to maintain your competitive advantage and continual improvement makes it possible. You will explore key points that lead to success and you’re likely to wonder who switched on the lights?

Once you “see” what is underneath it all, you will become a more effective person – in your personal life as well in your business life.

No matter what month it is, we’ve always donated 10% of the proceeds of Underneath It All to the Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Network for the treatment and research to cure Pancreatic Cancer and we will continue to do so. We are taking this month as an opportunity to highlight this story and raise awareness about this disease – ultimately hoping to save lives.

November 1, 2012 would have been Joan and Dave’s 36th Wedding Anniversary.